Cardiff care home fined more than £400,00 due to fire breaches which could have led to 'large scale tragedy'

A care home in Cardiff has been fined almost half a million pounds for putting residents at "serious risk" after it failed to comply with fire safety regulations.

A court heard how the failings at Hillcroft Residential Care Home in Llandaff could have led to a "large scale tragedy" due to care home bosses ignoring notices to improve.

Multiple inspections dating back in 2011 found the care home, which houses 25 bedrooms, to have "inadequate fire risk assessments, insufficient smoke alarms, inaccessible blocked fire escape routes" and failed to conduct appropriate evacuation drills.

The care home was also given a number of extensions to improve its regulations, which it did not do, the court heard.

Care home directors from Farrington Care Homes Ltd, who run multiple care homes in the UK, pleaded guilty to the offences at Cardiff Magistrates' Court.

District Judge Shomon Khan said the breaches were in the category of "high culpability".

"These are the most vulnerable members of our society. Each of them was put at risk…there was a risk of a large scale tragedy.

"These are very serious offences." 

Judge Khan ordered that the company to pay the total sum of £432,944.64 within 12 months.

Owen Jayne, from South Wales Fire and Rescue Service said the care home repeatedly failed to comply with its notices.

"Where we find breaches of this legislation it is our duty to take action to prevent death or serious injury.

“The decision to prosecute businesses is never taken lightly, however in this case there was a serious risk to vulnerable residents and this was attributed directly to the repeated failures to comply to enforcement notices."